The Satoyama Initiative was jointly initiated by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan, and the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS). Its international partnership (IPSI), established in Nagoya in 2010 concurrently with the 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, comprises organizations committed to supporting socioecological production landscapes (SEPLs) for the benefit of biodiversity and human well-being. The First IPSI Global Conference was held in March 2011 in Nagoya, Japan.

The theme of the Second IPSI Global Conference is “Strategy for Realising Societies in Harmony with Nature”. The conference will consist of a closed Assembly for IPSI members and a Public Forum.

The conference, which will be conducted in English, is expected to include remarks or speeches by Dr. Tony Simons (Director-General of ICRAF), Amb. Toshihisa Takata (Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of Kenya) and Prof. Kazuhiko Takeuchi (Vice Rector, United Nations University). Experts representing IPSI member organizations will break into three Working Group Sessions — (1) Capturing and Promoting Resilience in SEPLs including Disaster Risk Management, (2) Sharing Experiences of Restoring SEPLs and (3) Revitalizing Local Communities through Enhancing Traditional Knowledge and Empowering Young Successors — to share their experience and discuss the way forward.

Documentary videos produced by UNU-IAS in collaboration with other IPSI members will be screened during the conference.

For more information and registration, please contact the IPSI Secretariat (isi@ias.unu.edu). Further details about IPSI are available at http://satoyama-initiative.org/en/, and conference documentation will be available on this site after the event.